


A Home for a Wayward Soul

by TwilightKnight17



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Adoption, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon, The Velvet Room (Persona Series), the Velvet Room can't help but meddle sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17
Summary: Six years after the collapse of Mementos, Akira Kurusu walks forward without a clear purpose. But a chance encounter brings a missing piece back into his world, and it turns out to be something they both needed.





	1. Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Something light and fluffy I've been working on in-between other things. There's just three parts planned, nothing elaborate.
> 
> (As a point of clarification, since I know what I usually write, Akira and Goro were never in a relationship in whatever universe this is. They were friends and rivals. Nothing more.)

When you had once saved the world, it wasn’t always easy to settle into a normal life.

Akira had never been sure of what he wanted to do. Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, they’d had ideas of what kind of careers they wanted in the future. And the others were well on their way to figuring it out. But Akira was having a hard time pinpointing anything in particular, so at 22 years old he filled his days with working his collection of part-time jobs, taking online college courses, and volunteering at orphanages in his free time.

It was...a tribute, maybe. To the one friend he hadn’t been able to save. Even six years later, Akechi’s fate bothered him. It felt like his greatest failure, that Akechi had died to protect them, instead of being able to confront Shido and watch him go down in flames. And some days it felt like he was the only one who remembered. The general public had forgotten him, and even Akira’s friends never really mentioned him anymore. So Akira did his best, trying to be even a tiny bit of goodness in the system that had done Akechi so wrong.

This weekend was a new orphanage. The last facility he’d worked at had mentioned that this one was in desperate need of help, so he’d put in a volunteer application almost immediately. One of the caretakers had been giving him a tour, and after a loop of the bedrooms, the kitchens, and more of the ‘practical’ rooms, they were heading into one of the playrooms to see some of the children.

“So I understand that you want to work with the kids in particular, but you’re willing to help out in the kitchen, too?” she asked.

Akira nodded, walking beside her. “I’m a pretty good cook. Curry’s a specialty, but I’ve gotten a lot of practice with other things, too.”

The playroom they entered was fairly large, and kids in a wide variety of ages were scattered around, keeping themselves amused. But Akira’s attention was immediately captured by a little boy sitting by himself in an oversized chair, watching a Featherman rerun on the battered TV. Honey-brown hair framed a pleasant, _familiar_ face, but… This child couldn’t be older than three. There was...no way.

The caretaker followed Akira’s gaze, and hummed thoughtfully. “Ah, him. He’s a bit of a special case.”

“Special case?” Akira asked, feeling like everything outside of the space occupied by the three of them had disappeared.

“He won’t tell anyone his name,” the caretaker explained. “He’s been here almost a year, and we still don’t know it. No one knew at the last place he came from, either. We work around it, for the most part, because he gets angry when anyone tries to give him a nickname. He’s got quite a temper for such a small thing.”

Akira stared at the little boy, his heart clenching. This was impossible. This was too much. And at the same time, it was exactly the sort of thing _they_ would do.

He already knew what had to happen. There was no other option. It was going to be hard to explain to his friends, but that was something for a future Akira to worry about.

“I know his name,” he said softly.

“Y-You do?” the caretaker asked, dumbfounded. “How is that possible?”

“It’s a very long story,” Akira said. “But...watch.” He took a few steps farther into the room and said clearly, “Goro?”

The change in the child was immediate. He went stiff, trembling as he looked over at Akira. Wine-red eyes swirled with hope and fear and anxiety, and Akira dropped down to a kneel and held out a hand. “Goro Akechi. Come here.”

The child took a few stumbling steps before running headlong towards Akira, crashing into him and flinging his arms around his neck in a tight grip. A wailing sob was muffled against Akira’s shoulder, and Akira got back to his feet, arms tightening around Goro as Goro’s legs locked around him. It was obvious that he wasn’t planning to let go anytime soon, and Akira couldn’t deny that it felt right to have the slight weight in his arms.

 _I met you sooner,_ he thought, _and now I can make things better._

“I waited and waited and waited!” Goro was crying against his shoulder, and Akira slipped a hand into his hair, cradling him.

“I’m here now. I’m sorry I made you wait so long,” he murmured. “Do you remember me?”

Goro shook his head. “There was a blue lady,” he said, sniffling. “She had funny hair and a lot of makeup and a pretty voice, and she said that someone who knew my name would come and take care of me. So I didn’t tell anyone! And you knew my name, so you must be the right one!”

“I am,” Akira said. “My name’s Akira, and I promise, I’m going to take care of you from now on.” It was probably for the best that he didn’t remember. He could have a truly new start, have the sort of life he’d deserved from the beginning.

The caretaker, who’d been watching from off to the side, interjected tentatively, “Er… There is, um, paperwork for that sort of thing. And usually we have to do an evaluation, to make sure it’s a suitable environment for the child…”

Akira looked down at Goro, who had buried his face back against his shoulder. “Please,” he said softly. “I have an apartment; I have a spare room. I would just need to get some furniture. You saw my employment records when I applied to volunteer. I can take care of him, so...please…”

“He clearly loves you already,” she said. “And your face when you saw him… I’m not going to ask, but I can tell there’s something there. Come with me; we’ll pretend you had your evaluation, and I can start on the paperwork.”

“There’s pictures of my apartment on my phone, if that helps,” Akira said, trailing behind her as she headed towards the office. He’d taken them ages ago to send to his friends after he moved in, and never deleted them. “I think I can get a hand free.”

“That would be helpful, yes.”

Settled in a chair in her office, he was able to adjust his hold on Goro enough to both show her the pictures, which thankfully met with her approval, and sign the paperwork. Goro didn’t say anything else, just listened carefully as she described Akira’s new responsibilities to him. And once he assured her that he did still want to volunteer, just less hours than he had initially imagined, Akira found himself back on the sidewalk in front of the orphanage with Goro in one arm, and a small suitcase of Goro’s belongings in his other hand.

“Well then,” he said, bumping his head against Goro’s fondly. “How about we take this home, and then we can go do some shopping?”

“...shopping?” Goro asked quietly, his eyes wide and wary.

“Mhm. We’ve gotta get you a bed, and some sheets, and maybe some new clothes and stuff while we’re out. We’ll see what we find, okay?” Akira said brightly.

Goro’s grip on him tightened almost imperceptibly. “Okay.”

***

They spent the afternoon running around one of the big department stores, picking out all sorts of things Goro would need, starting with a bedframe and a dresser. The little boy seemed surprised to be asked what he liked, but they ended up choosing a nice set of furniture and a set of red sheets, once Goro admitted that was his favorite color.

Akira caught him staring at a large, plush Jack Frost while they were stopped in an aisle so Akira could check his shopping list. He looked from the plush, to Goro, and asked, “Do you like Jack Frost?”

Goro immediately looked away. “...yes.”

“What if we get you Jack Frost, then?” Akira reached for it, smiling, and Goro’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Why not?” Akira handed him the plush, which was half the size of the child riding in the shopping cart, and Goro clutched it tightly like he was afraid it was going to be taken away.

“The caretakers always said no,” Goro mumbled into Jack Frost’s hat.

Akira ruffled his hair. “Well, I’ll probably say no sometimes, but you can still ask. I won’t get mad at you. I promise.”

Tentatively, Goro looked up at him, leaning into the hand. “...can we have omelettes for dinner?” he asked.

“That sounds nice,” Akira agreed. “And then tomorrow, after your furniture is delivered, I can make you my special curry recipe.” He leaned in, whispering. “It’s a secret family recipe, but I’ll let you help.”

He would never forget the look on the child’s face at the word ‘family’, for as long as he lived. It just strengthened his resolve. He was going to take care of this child.

***

When they returned home, Akira fixed dinner. The next thing he learned about this new version of Goro was that he wanted to help and be involved, so Akira was forced to find a small stool so that Goro could stand at the counter and watch, and Akira could remind him several times not to touch the stove. They ate omelettes while sitting on the couch watching gameshows, and Akira asked, “So you like Featherman?”

Goro nodded. “I like Black Condor!”

Of course he did. Why wasn’t Akira surprised? But he looked a little anxious to have shared his favorite, so Akira said, “Black Condor is really cool. My favorite is Red Hawk. My sister Futaba has all the Featherman episodes on DVD; I’ll have to borrow them so we can marathon them one day.”

Wide-eyed, Goro nodded. Akira wasn’t sure how much of his nervousness was mistreatment that he’d suffered in this life, or lingering anxiety from the past, but he wanted nothing more than to soothe it away and make sure that Goro felt safe and loved from now on. When they were done eating, he let Goro snuggle up beside him as they watched a TV movie, and when bedtime rolled around, Akira put Goro to bed in his room and gathered a few blankets for the couch for himself.

“But this is your bed,” Goro objected.

Stubborn little thing. “You get to sleep here until your room is ready,” Akira explained. “You need a good night’s sleep so you can help me with the furniture tomorrow. I’m going to need a capable assistant.”

“I can help?” Goro lit up, and Akira smiled gently.

“Of course you can help.” He tucked Goro in, then ruffled his hair. “This is your home, now. I want you to feel like you belong here.”

Goro smiled angelically, and Akira felt like his heart was going to burst. There was so much to do. Paperwork, furniture, _being a parent_... But it was all going to be worth it.


	2. Part of the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Goro Day! Have some more fluff.

It was simple enough to take a few days off from his part-time jobs to get Goro settled in. Hanasaki-san wished him well, Lala told him to take it easy, and Sojiro was mildly suspicious, but didn’t ask questions. He was going to explain to his friends and his surrogate father eventually that he’d adopted not just a child, but a baby Goro Akechi. But he wanted to let Goro have time to get comfortable first, so they spent some time putting together the furniture once it was delivered, arranging Goro’s room, and getting used to living in the same space.

(Even though it was really Akira putting together and moving the furniture, while Goro mostly banged on the floor and everything else with a rubber mallet.)

But when Morgana returned from his week-long stay at Haru’s house, Akira found himself with a lot of explaining to do, very quickly.

“What’s with the toys?” was the first thing out of the cat’s mouth when Akira let him in the window from the fire escape. He padded over to bat curiously at the oversized Jack Frost and the beginnings of a haphazardly-built Lego castle, and Akira slumped onto the couch with a sigh.

“I have to tell you something, and _please_ don’t freak out,” Akira said. “I...kind of adopted a kid while you were gone.”

“You _what?_ ” Morgana yowled. “I mean, I figured you would eventually, but while I was gone? Akira!”

“It just sort of happened!” Akira said defensively. “And that’s not the part I don’t want you to freak out about. The Velvet Room… did something, and he’s, well…”

Morgana jumped onto the coffee table. “He’s what? What would the Velvet Room be doing with a kid?”

“He’s…” But Akira trailed off as Goro peered around the doorframe. He’d been taking a nap, but of course he’d chosen this moment to get up, before Akira could attempt to soften the blow of how strange this was going to seem.

“The kitty can talk,” Goro said, his eyes wide with wonder, and Morgana let out a strangled sound.

“Why does that kid look like Goro Akechi?!”

Akira walked over to pick up Goro, bringing him back to the couch and settling him on his lap. “It’s Goro Kurusu, now, actually, and I was trying to tell you. The Velvet Room did something, I don’t know what, but this is him and I’m taking care of him.” He wasn’t sure why Goro could understand Morgana. Either it was a carry-over from the past, or he’d heard Akira talking with someone, and hearing the voice before seeing Morgana had been enough.

“And you don’t think that’s weird at all?” Morgana asked.

“Weird?” Goro repeated, and Akira patted his head.

“Goro, this is Morgana. He’s a very special kitty,” he explained. “He can talk, but it’s a secret. We call him Mona for short.”

Goro beamed. “Hi, Mona!”

“...hi, Goro.” Morgana looked mildly stricken. “This is _so_ weird. Did you ask the Velvet Room what’s going on?”

Akira shrugged. “Not yet. I’m not really worried. He’s here, what else matters?” As far as he was concerned, this was a gift, and he wasn’t going to waste time questioning it. Goro was getting a second chance, even if the form that chance was taking was kind of strange. Akira knew he wasn’t making a mistake.

“Can I pet Mona?” Goro asked, craning his neck to look up at Akira.

“You should ask him,” Akira encouraged gently.

Goro looked surprised, then excited. “Can I pet you?” he asked, leaning forward, and Morgana slowly withered under his bright, puppy-eyed stare. Akira set Goro on the couch, and with only minor grumbling, Morgana jumped across to lay on his lap.

“Just don’t pet too hard,” he said, resigned, and Akira got up quickly before the cat saw him smiling.

“I’m going to go start dinner,” he said. “You two can bond.”

“This is still weird!” Morgana yelled after him, followed by Goro’s voice chiming, “Weird!” in imitation. Akira couldn’t help but laugh.

***

After another two days, mercifully uninterrupted by anyone else, Akira called a meeting. He asked the Thieves to gather at Leblanc, saying nothing other than that he had something important to tell them. And then, an hour before the meeting time, he walked into the cafe with Goro in his arms and a small backpack on his back, Morgana following at his side.

He’d explained to Goro that they were going to meet his friends, and that his friends were going to be really shocked that he’d found Goro after all that time. But he also explained that they were very nice, and that everyone was going to like him.

Sojiro came out of the kitchen and stopped in his tracks at the sight of the child. “...Akira, what on earth have you done?”

“This is Goro,” Akira said, and Goro waved a small hand. “I adopted him.”

Sojiro walked around the counter and sat down heavily on one of the chairs. “That’s what you’re having a meeting about? You adopted a child that looks just like your dead friend?”

Akira frowned. “Shhhh. The Velvet Room was involved. And he doesn’t remember anything.” He walked over as Goro looked around the cafe curiously. “Goro, this is Sakura-san. He’s like my dad, so he’s your g—”

“Finish that sentence at your own risk, kiddo. I’m not old enough for that.”

“Well, you’re too old to be an uncle.”

“Figure something out, then.”

Akira sighed heavily. “Goro, he’s ‘Boss’.”

Goro blinked. “Oh. Hi, Boss.”

“That works. Hello, Goro-kun.” Sojiro’s expression softened to a friendly smile, and he gestured to the kitchen. “Do you like hot chocolate?”

Goro nodded eagerly, and Sojiro waved the two of them off. “Akira, go show him your old room. I’ll bring his drink up when it’s done. On the house, for a new member of the family.”

“Thank you!” Goro said. Sojiro ruffled his hair, heading for the kitchen while Morgana took his usual perch on the TV shelf and Akira took Goro upstairs, grateful that Sojiro was so willing to go along with everything at this point.

The attic was still clean, one side with organized shelves of cafe supplies, the other with Akira’s old bed and desk. There was even still a plant. It wasn’t the same one, but it had been replaced with one that was obviously still being taken care of. Sojiro claimed that he kept everything neatened up in case of emergencies, which Akira knew was code for ‘if any of those kids I adopted need somewhere to stay’. So there was plenty of floorspace, and Akira set Goro down and swung off his backpack. “This is where I lived when I first came to Tokyo.”

“It’s small,” Goro said. He pointed at one of the shelves. “And there’s dust bunnies!”

Akira laughed. Same opinion as the old Goro, just nicer about it. “Yeah, it’s hard to keep back the dust bunny invasion. Here, I brought your Lego set. We can play until everybody else gets here. Okay?”

“Okay!”

***

When the rest of his friends arrived, Akira left Goro upstairs so that he could at least attempt to break the news gently. It wouldn’t do any good if they all freaked out and scared him, and he had a feeling they were going to freak out. He’d already gotten a text from Futaba asking who the kid was, to which he’d replied that he’d explain when she got there. Thank goodness her cameras weren’t picking up Goro’s face well enough to cause a panic.

“Geeze, feels like it’s been ages since we’ve all been here like this,” Ryuji sighed, swiping his soda off the counter and going to flop in a booth. “Why the meeting, Leader? Something important happening?”

“You really didn’t give any hints in your message,” Makoto added.

Akira took a deep breath. “Well…” Might as well just go ahead and rip the bandaid off. “I wanted to tell all of you that I adopted a kid.”

Predictably, after a beat of silence while everyone processed, there was pandemonium. All of his friends started talking at once, and Morgana watched from the shelf with a smug look as Akira attempted to wrangle them long enough to explain the rest.

“Akira, that’s _great_ ,” Ann gushed. “Are they cute? I bet they are.”

“You simply must let me paint you a family portrait to commemorate the occasion,” Yusuke said.

“Did you call us so we can meet them?” Haru asked.

“Hang on, hang on,” Akira said, holding up his hands to stop the flood of excited chatter. “I have to warn you first, because I don’t want you to freak out and scare him.” He paused for a moment, listening for tiny footsteps on the stairs so that he could intercept before he had a repeat of trying to tell Morgana. But all was quiet, and he continued, “I’m not sure how, or why, but the Velvet Room did something, and… the kid I adopted is Goro.”

“... do you mean Goro _Akechi?_ ” Makoto said incredulously.

“We don’t know any other Goros,” Futaba pointed out. “God, that’s why he looked so familiar on the camera. It was the hair. Holy shit.”

“You’re taking care of a miniature Goro Akechi?!” Ryuji nearly shouted, and Akira shushed him.

“Like I told Morgana, it’s Goro Kurusu now. And he’s fine. He’s three years old and he doesn’t remember anything.” Akira chewed his lip. “I...couldn’t just leave him there. They said he’d been there for years, waiting for _me_ , even though he didn’t know it was me specifically. I… I met him sooner, this time.”

For once, all of his friends were quiet. To his surprise, it was Haru who spoke up first.

“Well? I’d like to meet him, Akira-kun,” she said, with a gentle smile.

“R-Right,” Akira agreed. He excused himself to go fetch Goro, who insisted on walking down the stairs on his own, hand firmly grasping Akira’s.

Ann gasped audibly when she saw him, and Haru clapped her hands delightedly. Makoto and Ryuji exchanged baffled glances, while Futaba crowed triumphantly and punched Yusuke’s shoulder. “Holy _shit_ he really is a tiny Goro!”

“Don’t curse in front of the baby!” Ann cried.

“I’m not a baby!” Goro objected, pouting.

Akira introduced them all, and the Thieves, after the initial shock of a miniature version of Goro running around, accepted Goro with open arms. He ended up in Haru’s lap, listening with a rapt expression as she described the cakes that were going to be sold at the cafe she was planning to open soon.

Akira watched from behind the counter, making another round of hot chocolate with Makoto’s help. Goro looked slightly overwhelmed at all of the affection, but happy, and Makoto checked on the steamed milk and said, “So, it’s all right if I tell my sister about this, right? She cared about Akechi-kun too, and seeing Goro-kun… She would be happy.”

“...oh,” Akira said. He’d almost forgotten that Sae would want to know, too. “Yeah, you can tell her. I’ll brace myself for a visit.”

Makoto smiled. “You’re the best of us for this, you know. I think the Velvet Room knew that, too.”

Akira reached for his bangs out of habit, ducking his head. “I hope so.”

***

It took Sae a few days to find a break in her schedule to make a house call. Her career as a defense attorney was going well, and after dealing with the Phantom Thieves case, there was very little that could shake her.

However, when Akira opened the door, she stood dumbfounded for a second, caught off-guard by the fact that he was wearing a onesie printed to look like the costume of Feather Black Condor.

“...should I come back when you’re decent?”

Akira grinned. “I’m decent now.”

“That’s subjective.”

“In that case, I’m never decent, so you might as well come in.” Akira threw the door open the rest of the way, allowing her to see into the living room, where Goro was sitting on the couch, dressed in a matching Feather Red Hawk onesie. “We’re in the middle of a marathon,” Akira explained as he ushered her inside.

“I see,” Sae said. From immediate observation, Goro looked nervous, and as soon as she and Akira took a seat, he latched onto Akira’s arm and never took his eyes off her.

“Are you here to make me leave?” he asked.

Akira and Sae looked at each other for a second, and then Akira laughed and ruffled his hair. “No, kiddo, she’s just here to visit.” He could only figure it was because of the suit; Sae was still dressed like she’d come from work, and still had her generally professional disposition.

“I’m Sae Niijima,” Sae explained. “Akira told me that he had adopted you, and I just had to see the little boy that had stolen his heart.”

“Sae-san!” Akira whined, but she ignored him.

“I help the police,” she said. “I try to make sure they don’t accidentally punish good guys when they’re trying to get the bad guys.”

“You’re like Feather Swallow!” Goro said, his eyes big and round. “She finds the bad guys with her ama… amas… amal…”

“Analyzer,” Akira prompted gently, and Goro nodded.

“Yeah, that!”

Sae laughed. “I guess you could say that I have to analyze all the information, so I can protect people.” She’d never been compared to a superhero before. It was flattering.

Akira wrapped his arms around Goro, cuddling him and earning a laugh. “See? He’s so smart, Sae-san, I love him.”

A soft smile quirked Sae’s lips. “I can see that you do. He’s lucky to have you.”

“...I’m lucky to have him, too.”


	3. Like a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this later than I wanted to, but here's the last part for Goro's birthday. Happy Birthday, baby boy. <3

Almost a year passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. Akira eventually grew used to the odd looks he got, being the 23-year-old parent of a boy that had just turned four. There were definitely some judgmental frowns mixed in, and Akira knew there were people that wondered where Goro’s mother was.

Goro himself didn’t seem to care. He gave Akira a minor heart attack the first time he called him ‘dad’, but it was something else that he’d come to embrace wholeheartedly in the time they had together. This was his son, however much mental adjusting it took to get used to the idea.

But a few weeks after Goro’s birthday, they ran into their first real roadbump.

Akira woke up at some ungodly hour of the morning to the sound of Goro screaming.

He kicked off the covers out of instinct, already halfway to his bedroom door by the time Morgana said sleepily, “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” Akira said. “Stay here; I’ll see what’s the matter.” He hurried across the hall to Goro’s room, finding him wrapped in a pile of blankets, shaking and crying. “Goro, Goro, what’s wrong?”

Goro struggled free of his self-made nest to launch himself into Akira’s arms, crying into his shoulder. He was inconsolable, and Akira sat down on the bed, tugging one of the blankets up to wrap around him. “Hey, hey, shhh… I’m here. Was it a bad dream?”

“There was a monster!” Goro cried, his voice thick with tears.

Akira bit his lip, holding Goro tighter. “Monsters can’t get you,” he said. “I won’t let them. I used to fight monsters all the time, and they were afraid of _me_.”

Goro sniffled. “Th-They were?”

“Yep,” Akira assured him. “My friends and I spent a year as monster hunters. We made sure all the bad guys couldn’t hurt anyone anymore. So you don’t have to be scared, because I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

“Will you stay here?” Goro asked, and Akira nodded.

“Of course I will.”

It was a tight fit, since Goro’s bed wasn’t exactly meant for adults, but Akira managed. Goro fell back asleep curled up in his arms, and Akira laid awake for a long time. He could keep Goro safe from a lot of things, but nightmares weren’t one of them. All he could do was try to make sure he felt safe in the aftermath.

Two weeks passed, and intermittently Akira found himself woken up at odd hours by Goro crawling into bed with him. He rarely said anything, just burrowed under Akira’s arm or into his chest until he stopped shaking and went back to sleep. He was never particularly specific about what was wrong, other than saying there was a ‘black and white monster’, and Akira was gradually reaching his wit’s end of how to help.

But then, they went a whole week without a single nightmare, and he assumed it was just a passing period of stress or anxiety.

***

_Everything was cold, and dark, and echoing._

_The walls and floors and ceiling were all made of metal, ugly rusty red and dull grey, and there were grates in the floor and pipes on the walls. He didn’t like it. This was a bad place._

_His dad was there, in a cool monster-hunting outfit, and so was Aunt Ann, and Aunt Haru, and his other family, all dressed to fight monsters. But the black and white monster was there too, and it was bigger than them, with a scary glowing sword that looked like it would burn._

_And his family was losing._

_“Stop it!” he screamed, but the monster ignored him, pointing its sword at Uncle Yusuke and setting him on fire. “NO!”_

_He had to watch, over and over, as all of them got hurt and collapsed. Finally there was just his dad, and the monster took its glowing red-hot sword and stabbed it through the middle of him._

_He screamed again as his dad fell to the floor with the sword still stuck in him, and the monster turned and advanced on him instead, impossibly tall compared to him. “GET AWAY FROM ME!”_

_**“I am you!”** the monster roared. **“And you are me!”**_

***

Akira was about to put the first piece of french toast in the pan when there was a piercing scream from down the hall. He dropped the spatula and almost knocked the entire plate of bread into the floor. Thankfully Morgana was spending the week with Futaba, or he’d have probably launched into something from shock. As it was, Akira was trying to calm his racing heart when Goro sprinted into the room, hitting his legs full-speed and causing him to stumble into the counter.

Goro was sobbing harder than Akira had ever seen him, and he reacted instinctively, picking him up and squeezing him. “Goro, shhh, shh, you’re safe. Was it the monster again?”

It took a few minutes for Goro to calm down enough to talk, gulping down shuddering breaths. Akira’s shoulder was soaked with tears, and he waited patiently, moving them away from the stove after cutting it off to sit in one of the kitchen chairs with Goro on his lap. But he wasn’t expecting Goro to finally look up and tearfully ask, “Am I a monster?”

“What?” Akira said dumbly. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

Goro hiccupped, rubbing futilely at his eyes. “Because the monster said it was me!”

Suddenly things clicked into place. A ‘black and white monster’ hadn’t registered properly without context, but now Akira understood everything.

And now he was worried.

“Get down for a second, kiddo,” he said gently, helping Goro onto his feet. He moved quickly around the kitchen, putting the toast ingredients in the fridge and making sure there was nothing else sitting out that could go bad. Then he turned back to Goro and smiled. “Get your shoes. We’re going to go out for a little while.”

Goro sniffled, still trying to calm his breathing down. “Wh-Where are we going?”

“We’re going to see the blue people.”

Within ten minutes, they were on their way out. Akira had his Velvet key on a cord around his neck, walking with Goro’s hand held tightly in his. He didn’t know what it meant, that Goro was dreaming of Loki, but he didn’t like the implications. Before now, he’d never considered that Goro might start remembering his past. It was a terrifying prospect. He was happy with this; he didn’t want Goro to have to carry memories of all of that pain and anger. Not anymore.

The Velvet Room door was still in Shibuya, though an attendant no longer waited outside. Akira unlocked the door himself, scooping up Goro to carry him down the blue hallway to the lounge. It wasn’t a prison anymore, and Akira’s nerves were grateful. When he stepped into the room, Igor was waiting, and the song that usually filled the room cut off as the singer, Belladonna, gasped with delight.

“We haven’t seen you in a while, Trickster,” Igor said serenely.

“I had a question.” Akira set Goro on his feet, nodding permission when Goro looked up at him, and the boy immediately ran over to be wrapped in a hug from Belladonna.

“I can imagine you have several.” Igor watched Belladonna fussing over Goro for a moment before turning back to Akira. “Let me answer at least one. My master determined that Goro Akechi did not receive the proper opportunities to shape his own fate. The manipulations of the false god robbed him of that. And so he was given the chance to start over. And we knew that you, as the person who grew closest to him, would be ideal to help him with that new start. Although… It was a near thing, because Belladonna certainly wanted to keep him.”

“He would have been a lovely part of the family,” Belladonna said. Goro had escaped from her hug and made his way over to the piano, where he climbed up beside Nameless to watch him play.

Akira stomped down a sudden surge of protective possessiveness, and instead said, “He hasn’t remembered anything so far. Why is he suddenly having nightmares about Loki?”

“Some memories are stronger than others, and will never be completely wiped away,” Igor explained. “As they are only fragments, his mind will create things to fill in the gaps. What little he remembers surfaces, and his subconscious interprets it as nightmares, even though they are not accurate to what truly happened.”

“Is there anything I can do, though?” Akira asked. “He’s so scared when he wakes up. I’m worried.”

“You could try humming the Poem,” Lavenza said, causing Akira to jump as she brushed by his elbow. She stopped beside Igor’s desk and smiled. “He always liked it while he was here.”

Igor nodded. “Other than that, there are no differences between these and ordinary nightmares. We cannot offer a sure solution to be rid of them.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Akira was a little disappointed that there wasn’t anymore to be said about that, but it was fair enough. He could figure out how to handle this, though. For Goro’s sake.

“I will say…” Igor commented. “There is no reason that you cannot fight the monsters the same way that you always have.”

***

Akira considered that as they left the room, pondering what Igor could possibly mean. But as he stepped back into the alleyway in Shibuya, his eyes fell on a familiar store, and suddenly he knew exactly what to do.

Untouchable looked the same as ever, and Iwai peered from behind his newspaper and raised an eyebrow when Akira walked in with Goro in tow. “Been a while. Who’s the kid?”

“This is my son, Goro,” Akira said. “I need something special today.”

“You’re not back in business, are you?” Iwai asked, but he set the paper aside and came out from behind the counter, carefully plucking an oversized knife out of range of Goro’s curious hands.

Akira laughed. “No, I was wondering if you still had that section of replica anime weapons and stuff. I need one for Goro.”

“Pretty hardcore choice for a little guy like him. These aren’t toys, y’know,” Iwai said, but he waved them towards the little corner where the more fantastical replicas were. Akira kept an eye on Goro, whose eyes lit up as he saw the colored swords and ray guns.

“The monsters have to be convinced it’s the real thing. That’s how this works,” Akira said with a wink. “And you’ve got the best models in Tokyo.”

“Flattery’s not getting you a discount, brat.” But Iwai reached up and took down a lightsaber that was slightly shorter than the standard, more suited for a four-year-old than the longer versions. His voice softened as he offered it to Goro. “What do you think, kid? There’s a switch on the handle.”

Goro took the sword very carefully. When he pressed the switch, a soft green color filled the blade from the bottom up, and Akira found himself surprisingly grateful that it wasn’t blue. One less tie to the past. Goro carefully swung the sword, then hugged it to his chest and looked up at Akira. “Can… Can I really get this one?”

“Yeah.” Akira knelt down to look at him directly. “When I used to fight monsters, I used weapons like this. And the monsters were afraid of _me_.”

“But…” Goro frowned. “But it can’t burn the monsters.”

Smart little thing. Akira reached out to ruffle his hair. “The monsters don’t know that. As long as they think it’s real, it’ll burn them. You just have to believe that you can fight, and you’ll be okay. Can you be brave and do that for me?”

Goro nodded, determined, and Iwai huffed a laugh. “C’mon up to the counter, then, and I’ll get you squared away.”

After they’d made their purchase, Iwai walked them to the door, laying a heavy hand on Akira’s shoulder before he could leave.

“Hm?” Akira stopped. “What is it?”

“From one single dad to another...you’re doing fine.”

Akira felt suddenly like a weight had come off of his shoulders. He’d been trying, but to have someone actually confirm it was...refreshing. “...thank you, Iwai-san.”

“Anytime.”

***

He tucked Goro into bed that night with his new lightsaber and a kiss on his forehead, and a promise that if he was still scared, he could still come crawl into bed with him.

But Goro seemed determined, because once Akira pushed his door mostly closed and headed for his own room, he could hear Goro saying, “I’m not scared of you! You’re just a monster, and I can fight monsters like dad!”

It gave him a good feeling. 

When Goro walked into the kitchen the next morning, he was still carrying his sword, but he seemed much less upset than he’d been the past few weeks. He crossed the room to where Akira was waiting for the kettle to boil, put the lightsaber down, and reached up for a hug that Akira gladly gave.

“Did you get the monster?” Akira asked, and Goro hugged him tighter.

“I told it to go away. And if it comes back, I’ll fight it!” he said. But then he buried his face in Akira’s neck. “I love you, dad.”

Akira resisted the urge to melt into a puddle right there. “I love you too, Goro. I’m glad you didn’t have bad dreams last night.”

“The sword helped.” Goro let go and went over to the pantry. “Do we have pastries?”

“I think we do. I might have gotten some just for you.” Akira retrieved the paper bag of doughnuts with a grin. “And when you’re a little older, I’ll teach you to use a real sword.”

“Really?!”

“Really-really,” Akira promised.

Goro lit up like he’d offered to take him to Destinyland (which he was going to do at some point). His enthusiasm was adorable, and as Akira set out his breakfast and put the lightsaber within reach, he knew for sure.

They were going to be just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There won't be any more of this. It was just supposed to be something short and cute about them settling into a new life, and I think I've gotten it out of my system. I definitely wanted to include a little bit of the Velvet Room, though, because the idea of them taking care of Goro was cute. As Jade said when I brought it up to her:
>
>> Belladonna: But he'd be such a good little brother for Lavenza.  
> Igor: No.  
> Donna: He has a talent for art! He could learn from the painter!  
> Igor: No.  
> Donna: He even has a knack for stardom- he could be the singer one day.  
> Igor: No.  
> Donna: He's never had homecooked food, he'd LOVE all of Elizabeth's treats.  
> Igor: No.  
> Donna: Poor Theo's already outnumbered by his sisters!  
> Igor: Don't make me get out of this chair.
> 
> He won't ever remember his past entirely, which as Akira says, is a good thing. He can grow up normal and safe and happy now. Which really, is the best birthday gift he deserves.


End file.
